I wake up with a rumble of my belly, telling me how hungry I am. Raven snorts, shaking her mane out. We both get up, our legs cracking and I walk to the fence, that look more like one big slab of wood. Raven trots up to me, stumbling through the hoof deep dirt. She presses her chest against the fence and whinnies, expecting a call in return. The sound of footsteps echoes through the barn, and Raven pricks her ears.
" It's not him." I say. She pins her ears at me, nipping my neck. I trot away, to the other side of the large area. I paw at the ground, dirt flying out to the side. I walk to the other side, hearing a distant neigh. I rush to the fence, poking he nose through the small opening. Freezing cold air rushes into my nose as I search for Thunder's scent.
Just unfamiliar horses, nothing of Thunder. I back away, hearing Raven whinny in distress. I whip my head around and watch as a human pulls her away, another slamming the gate shut. I burst forward, loping over to where Raven was standing and waiting for Bear. She disappears behind the wall and her echoing hoofbeats fade away. I neigh out to her a couple times, weaving back and forth. I stop suddenly, pricking my ears at the sound of quiet footsteps. I've learned which is which, horses having two more than a human.
Nick pokes his head from the wall, startling me. My tail swishes side to side nervously as he approaches me with something in his hand. He steps up on something, standing face to face with me. I'm frozen, confusion flooding my head. Should I run, or bite him? He slowly sticks his hand out, straight as the plateaus we run on, with a scarlet red apple in his palm. It's slightly small, but still, it reminds me of the ones that would fall when you rubbed yourself on the tree in our meadow. How did he get one in the winter? A little voice in my head sweeps by.
" Eat it, your hungry." I am hungry, but can I trust a human who took me from my home? I carefully stretch my head out, the fresh apple scent filling my nose and lungs. Lipping the skin of the apple, he reaches up to touch my forehead. I spook, turning away and galloping to the other side of the fence. I turn, looking over at the boy. He reaches for the apple, staring at me. He stops, looking deep into my eyes. I snort, pawing the soft dirt.
" Now, stop it. You could get sand in your eyes." Sand. I just keep learning more and more. I slowly start walking towards the boy, my steps high and careful. He stands up and bolts past the gate closing it behind him. I walk towards the gate, head low to the ground. I stop, grabbing the apple with my hands and as I chew the delicious fruit, my belly grumbles loudly. I walk forwards and stick my head past the fence and wonder where they boy went. She appears out from the dance and strokes my face lightly, I scramble away and nearly trip over my tail. His eyes widen as I gallop in circles, my muscles powering my hindquarters. I slow to a stop, watching the boy with my head held high. He turns away and runs down the hallway, vanishing behind the wall.
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As my eyes droop and my lower lip hangs, I hear footsteps approaching the sandy arena. My ears prick up and I watch as Nick and his mother turn the corner pushing a wheelbarrow full of hay. An unexpected nicker whooshes up my throat and through my nose. Nick laughs and opens the gate, his mother pushing the bucket on wheels into my pen and she rushes the both of them out, closing the gate behind her loudly. I start walking forwards, my breath fogging out and trailing behind me.
" She's going to eat it, mom!" Nick yells excitedly, and I spook to the side, side stepping away. His mother hushes him quickly. My heart rate calms and my belly grumbles again, reminding me of how hungry I really am. I sigh, giving in to my hunger and walking up to the hay and plunge my muzzle into the bucket.
Filling my stomach up, I walk away from the wheelbarrow, satisfied with my full belly. Nick giggles, skipping into the pen and wheeling it away.
" Wow, you must've been hungry." He mumbles, turning the corner and his steps fade away.
In my heart, I want him back. I want him to feed me, and water me like a normal, domestic horse. From his hand and even let him lead me.
But in my head, I know that I can't trust these humans. Mother always taught me to stay away from them and I've gone against her teachings. I know that they will break me, take away my foals and sell them. They will take me from where I once called home, and replace it with a tiny, confined area where I can't even graze. They won't break me. They won't keep me here. And that's a promise, to my herd. My family.
The sky darkens, clouds overcoming the pale, thin roof of the arena. I hear more footsteps and expect Nick to come by with another juicy apple, but I am wrong. These are more heavy, and spaced out. Like a man. My tail tucks between my legs and I start walking to the other end of the arena. I turn, my tail nearly touching the wall and I watch a large man walk in next to Nick. I didn't even hear his little steps.
" Hey, horsey," He calls to me.
" We got a vet, to check on your foal." Oh no. He can't get near my baby. Not even when it's still inside me. I snort nervously, pawing at the soft, dark sand.
They enter the pen.
Authors Note-
Dun dun dun! What's gonna happen? Oh, I can't tell you! Sorry it took so long, I had a really, really bad writers block:( Thank you for reading! -Cacia
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Born Free
AdventureBook 1: Born Wild Book 2: Born Free ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a little foal, Aurora has always loved to run. She sometimes sneaks in with the race horses and gallops along with them, just to get that feeling of the race. After getting told not to do that a...
